Automatic hand-brake-release mechanism



(No Model.)

- T. EUBAN K.

AUTOMATIG HAND BRAKE RELEASE MECHANISM.

No. 591,666. Patenmad Oct. 12,1897.

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UNITED v STATES PATENT .OFFicn.

THOMAS EUBANK, OF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS, ASSIGNOR TO THE MIS- SOURI RAILWAY EQUIPMENT COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

AUTQMATIC-HAND-BRAKE-RELEASE MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 591,666, dated October 12, 1897.

Application filed 1119 7' To all whom itmcty concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS EUBANK, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Little Rock, in the county of Pulaski, State of Arkansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Hand- Brake Releases, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference bein g had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure l is a partial bottom plan view of a railroad-canshowing the usual brake levers and rods of an air-brake system with my automatic handbrake-releasing mechanism connected thereto. Fig; 2 is a similar View of the mechanism immediately connected to the brake-cylinder, showing in dotted lines the effect of the initial movement of the piston of the brake-cylinder on the automatic handbrake-releasing mechanism before the brakes are applied. Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the brake-cylinder, illustrating the manner of connecting the brake and releasing levers to the fork of the piston. Fig. 4 is a detail View of the dog, showing its manner of releasing the ratchet-wheel of the handbrake staff. Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of said dog and its operating-lever.

This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in means for automatically releasing hand-brakes on passenger or freight cars when said cars are provided with airbrakes. Railroads experience considerable trouble and wear of wheels on rolling-stock from hand-brakes on cars being left set by trainmen when switching cars into trains or sidings, who neglect to release or let the handbrakes off. Passengers also carelessly turn the hand-brakes while on the platforms of coaches, and trainmen being in other parts of train overlook such setting of the handbrakes. IVhen hand-brakes are set in airbrake systems, the application of air by the engineer in making a stop to set the brakes causes the brake-shoes to bind on the wheels and the wheels to slide on the rails, making flat faces. It follows, therefore, that the hand-brakes must be released before air is Serial No. 640,784. (No model.)

applied to set the brakes. Otherwise it is impossible to prevent the wheels from sliding on the rails, which causesconsiderable damage and often necessitates delays. Manuallyset brakes is the only feature in air-brake systems over which the engineer has not complete control, such being left to the train crew. The train crew cannot possibly watch all the hand-brakes on passenger-coaches, even by the mostdiligent attention, unless the number of the crew was greatly increased for that purpose.

The object of my invention is to automatically release man ually-set brakes no matter how tightly the same may be set and place the same under complete control of the engineer. This object I accomplish by the mechanism hereinafter described, which when the engineer applies air to set the brakes the hand-brakes must first be released before the air in the brake-cylinders affects the brakes.

In the accompanyingdrawings I have illustrated the common form of air-brake mechanism to which I have applied my invention, but it is obvious that there are other forms of brake mechanism to which my invention would be equally applicable, and also that there are changes in the construction, ar-

on hand-brake stafi, upon which is wound chain on end of hand-brake connecting-rod, and 15, dog for preventing return movement of ratchet-wheel on hand-brake staff when same is set, said parts being of any ordinary or approved construction, except cylinderlever 3, which has a slot-and-pin connection with the piston-rod forkinstead of being posidog 15, which cooperates with the ratchetwheel of the brake-staff.

B indicates a rod secured to lever A on the opposite side of fulcrum of said lever from rod B, said rod B running to opposite end of the car and cooperating with dog in like manner as rod B.

D indicates a stop preferably adjustable relative to stroke of piston in brake-cylinder, said stop being mounted in nose of brake-cylinder and cooperating with slotted end of lever 3, as shown in Fig. 3.

Assuming the hand-brakes to be set at one or both ends of the car and the dogs 15 in engagement with the ratchet-wheels on the stafis of said hand-brakes, the first operation upon application of air behind piston in brake-cylinder is to force said piston outwardly, and lever A being positively connected thereto will move therewith, drawing rods B and B toward center of car, and by the connection between said rods and the dogs 15 through lever G will cause said dogs to be disengaged from their cooperating ratchet-wheels on the brake-staffs, thus releasing the brakes which have been set manually. This release of the manually-set brakes is accomplished during what I term an initial movement of the piston in the brake-cylinder, because said cylinder while performing such work is carrying the pin which passes through its crosshead or fork along the slot in lever 3 and will not become positively connected with said lever 3 until said pin has traversed the slot, when the brakes will be applied as usual.

From the above description it will be noted that no matter how many cars have handbrakes set with one or two turns on brakestafi or as tight as the brakes can be set by hand when the engineer applies the brakes through the air system the initial travel of the piston before it is even engaged with the airbrake mechanism releases the hand-brakes, after which the air-brakes are set in the same stroke and without requiring any extra manipulation of the engineers valve by the engineer or attention on the part of the train crew to the hand-brakes. The engineer has thus complete control over the entire train irrespective of whether the hand-brakes are set or not, and flat faces or sliding of the wheels may be entirely prevented. The mechanism is entirely automatic in its actionthat is, it performs its work, when it has work to do, without relying upon any one to assist or direct it in its action.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat: ent, is

1. The combination with the air brake mechanism of passenger or freight cars, of

means operated by said air-brake mechanism to automatically release the manually-set brakes; substantially as described.

2. The combination with the air -b rake mechanism of passenger or freight cars, of means connected to and operated by said airbrake mechanism to automatically release manually-set brakes before said air-brake mechanism becomes operative; substantially as described.

3. The combination with the air-brake.

mechanism of passenger or'freight cars in which is included a brake-cylinder and its piston, of means connected to and operated by said piston for automatically releasing manually-set brakes before said piston is operative relative to the air-brake mechanism; substantially as described.

4. The combination with the air-brake operates with the ratchet-wheel of the handbrake staff; substantially as described.

5. The combination with a cylinder and its piston, of ahand-brake mechanism comprisloo ing suitable means for applying and retaining power, and a connection between said piston and the retaining device for the handbrake mechanism; substantially as described.

6. The combination with the brake-staff and its ratchet-wheel, of a dog for cooperating with said ratchet-wheel, a cylinder and piston, and a connection between said piston and said dog; substantially as described.

7. The combination with the cylinder and its piston, of suitable brake mechanism which is operated by said piston after the same has traveled some distance on its stroke, and a hand-brake-releasing mechanism connected to and operated by said piston when the same is making its initial movement, or before said piston operates the brake mechanism; substantially as described.

8. The combination with the cylinder and piston, of a brake mechanism in which is included a slotted lever 3, a stop for arresting said lever so that the first movement of the piston will be the distance of said slot before said piston becomes positively connected with the brake mechanism, and means operated by said piston during such initial movement to effect the release of the brakes, should they be manually set; substantially as described.

der and its piston, of brake mechanism in the brake-stafis at the ends of the car; sub- 10 which is included a slotted lever for cooperstantially as described. ating with the piston, an adjustable stop on In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my said cylinder for arresting the slotted end of signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 5 said lever, a lever A positively connected to 24th day of May, 1897.

said piston, said lever A being slotted for the THOS. EUBANK. passage of its fulcrum-pin, and rods 13 and Witnesses: B connected to said lever A and to the dogs J. F. WILLS,

which cooperate with the ratchet-Wheels on A. O. ZINZOW. 

